Perforating machine and method of operating the same



Feb. 15, 1938. v R ENBER 2,108,447

PERFORATING MACHINE AND METHOD OF OPERATING THE SEME- Filed Jan. 15. 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Ill/III,

/ Feb."15;, 3 s. E. ROSENBERG 2,108,447

PERFORATING MACHINE AND METHOD OF OPERATING THE SAME Filed Jan. 15. 1936 s Sheets-Shet 2 WMW Z? I I Feb. I5, 1938. s. E. ROSENBERG. 2 108,447

PERFORATING MACHINE AND METHOD OF OPERATING THE SAME Filed Jan. I5. 1956 5 Shets-Sheet 3 Iii lid

ug s UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PERFORATING MACHINE AND METHOD OPERATING THE SAME Stig E. Rosenberg, Brockton, Man. Application January 15,1936,'Sfl3l No. 59,233

19 Claim.

This invention relates to a machine for orna-. menting work, such as parts of shoe uppers, by cutting therein by a die provided with cutting. elements such as tubular or hollow knives or combinations of such ele-' ments, formed and arranged to ornament the work, the machine being provided with a backing strip of suitable material such as heavy paper ted with the die.

The present invention includes certain improvements on the machine disclosed in my pending application filed August 13, 1935, Serial No. 35,955.

In the operation of machines oi. this type, the be. strip is scored by the die with each actuanon oi the mechanism. Hence the backing strip is advanced after each such actuation to present wfresh unscored area of the strip to the die. results in a succession of scorings in the strip extending in a longitudinal series.

in many instances, the scored figures are not neerip as wide as the paper strip. An object of present invention is to utilize the full width oi the beefing strip in such instances by making possibie relative lateral displacement between the strip die whereby a. number of such series oi may be made side by side on the htiiliii.

iinother object of the invention is to facilitate operation on any portion of a formed upper,

is, upper, the ends of which have been joined together in a seam at the rear, without oi to the fingers of the operator. mother obiect oi the present invention is to poovlde a. booming strip whose ends are joined the machine showing an adjustable mount for a hat die of any width, the die mount being supported in turn by a supplemental bed.

Figure 4 shows in perspective portions of the supporting means shown by Figure 3.

Figure 5 a side view of a machine having an endless backing strip and means for applying an "shown by Figures 7 and 8.

Figure 11 is L fragmentary perspective view showing the aluminum face plate of the platen, a portion of the backing strip, and a portion oi the die.

Figure 12 is a perspective view oi a pair oi supporting members of modified form for e die or die mount.

Figure 13 is a perspective view of a die adapted for use with the supporting members shown in Figure 12.

Figure ii is a perspective view of a formed upper after ornamentation has been punched in a side thereof. I

Figure 15 is a fragmentary front elevation of a perforating machine on which are used. supporting members of the kind shown in Figure 112.

e 16 is a section on the line ii-it oi Figure 15.

Figure 17 is a front elevation oi as rtioh oi Figure 15, showing. an upper in position to be operated upon I, I

Figures 18 and 19 are prospective views of the die shown in Figure 13, illustrating two successlve steps in the positioning oi an upper on the die.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all of the figures.

The frame of the machine includes a fixed base or bed It, spaced apart sides It, and a top It connecting the sides. It is a reciprocating platen movable toward and from the base. A supplemental bed It is shown by Figures 1 and 2, supported by the base or bed i2. I1 is a die supported by the supplemental bed and having suitable punches, and cutting elements, such as a stripper plate. I8 is the backing strip, usually of paper. The strip I! may be made wholly of paper, or of layers of paper and cloth, or any other suitable sheet material, and is moved progressively. One end of the strip is engaged with a re-wind shaft i8 (Figure 6) driven by a belt 20, (Figure 7), running on a pulley 2| on the driving shaft, 22, and on a pulley 23 on the re-wind shaft i9.

When a strip i8 has been wound on the shaft i9, it can be removed from that shaft and transferred in the form of a tubular or hollow roll 24 to a supplying shaft or rod 25 so as to be run through the machine again.

A stretch I of the backing strip from the roi 24 extends downward from the guide 28 to and under a guide 21, another stretch 2 extends horizontally from the guide 21 to a guide 28, this stretch passing between the bed l8 and the platen l5, and another stretch 3 extends upwardly from the guide 28 to a guide 28. From the guide 29 the strip passes through the nip of a feeding couple composed of a pair of rolls including a fluted driven roll 30 fixed to a shaft 3i, and an idle roll 32 pressed downwardly by springs against the roll 30 to grip the backing strip.

As shown in Figures 6 and 'I, and more particularly described in my application Ser. No. 35,955, hereinbefore referred to, I provide means for imparting intermittent feeding movements to the driven feed roll 30 so that the backing strip is given a step-by-step movement through the machine. The driving means for the roll 30 includes a ratchet wheel 3l0 mounted on the feed shaft 3| whereon is loosely mounted the hub portion of a pawl member 3 which engages the ratchet in the usual manner. The member 3 is rocked through a connecting rod 3l2 which is pivotally attached thereto at one end, the other end of the rod being attached to a rocker arm 3l3 which rocks about a pivot 3. The arm 3i 3 is rocked by a crank pin 315 revolving about the axis of the shaft 22 and driven by said shaft. It is evident from Figure 6 that during a portion of each revolution of the crank-pin 3l5, feeding movement will be imparted to the feed roll 30, the roll being motionless during the remaining portion of each revolution. Thus the feed roll 30, and hence the paper backing strip I8, is intermittently fed during the operation of the machine. The crank-pin is angularly related to themain drive shaft 22 in such a manner as to impart feeding movement to the feed roll 30 immediately after the platen moves away from the bed l6 and the die carried thereby.

A suitable tensioning device (shown in detail in Figure 9) for the strip is mounted at the rear of the machine, preferably at the guide 21, so as to cooperate with the feed rolls 30 and 32 in maintaining a suitable tension on the horizontal stretch 2 of the strip. As shown on the drawings, the tensioning device may comprise 'a presser 320 hinged as at 32! to a supporting member 322 and pressed upward. against the guide rod 21 by a spring 323 which surrounds a plunger 324. The upper end of the plunger 324 is secured to the presser 320. Its lower end has a head 325 which bears against a cam element 326 mounted on the under face of a longitudinally slidable bar 321, the plunger extending through a slot in this bar. As indicated in Figure 8, the bar 321 may be shifted by a suitable lever 329 so as to wedge the head 325 downward ly and thus retract the presser from the guide bar 21 against the pressure of.the spring 323. When the machine is in use, the strip in this stretch is fed forward past the die, after which it immediately turns past the guide 28 and moves upward in front of the machine, thus coming at once into view of the operator after being scored by the die.

According to the invention, provision is made for lateral adjustment of the die on the bed I. To this end, the front face of the bed I8 is provided with a horizontal, transversely extending guide rod 33, the ends of which are inserted in sockets 34 fixed to the supplemental bed. On the guide 33 are slidably mounted two gibs 35 having parallel guide members extending longitudinally of the bed and engaging opposite side faces of the punching die. The guide 33 is arranged to permit lateral shifting of said gibs and the punching die crosswise of the backing strip I8 so that the entire width of the backing strip can be utilized when the pattern cut by the die is narrower than the strip. The gibs 35 are releasably secured to the guide 33 by suitable means such as thumbscrews 36.

Figure 3 shows an anvil 31 substituted for the supplemental bed IS, the anvil resting directly on the fixed bed l2 and supporting the punching die l1 which is secured thereto.

38 is a transversely extending lower guide rod secured to the front of the fixed bed l2, and is provided with a pair of gibs 39 extending longitudinally of the bed and movably mounted on the guide 38 to engage opposite side faces of the anvil 31 to guide the in and out movements of the anvil on the bed l2 when the machine is operated.

The lower guide 38 permits lateral shifting of the lower gibs 38, and the anvil and punching die, crosswise of the backing strip. Means such as thumbscrews 40 are provided for securing the gibs 38 in any position to which they may be shifted.

Each of the gibs 35 and 39, as indicated in Figure 4, preferably includes a horizontal supporting rail 88 the lower surface of which is flush with the surface of the bed and projects forward from the front edge thereof so as to form a virtual continuation of the bed surface on which the die i1 (Figure l) or the anvil 31 (Figure 3) can ride when pulled out in front of the machine to receive a shoe upper. Each of the gibs also has a vertical face 6| which extends forward with the face 60, and also extends rearward of the front edge of the bed to act as a lateral guide for the die or anvil so that the die will travel in a definite path when pulled out to receive work and when pushed back for a punching operation on the work. An adjustable stop 62 (Figure 2) may be mounted on the bed to determine accurately the operating position of the die.

The lower guide 38 is so spaced below the upper-guide 33 that the supplemental bed I6 and the anvil 31 may be used interchangeably, the supplemental bed Hi and the upper guide and its gibs being removed when the anvil is used, as indicated by Figure 3.

Figure 5 shows a backing strip Illa the ends of which are brought together and united to each other as at 42, so that the strip is in the form of an endless band and is capable of passing repeatedly through the machine without rethread: ing. A receptacle 43 containing a quick drying liquid 44, such as a composition consisting of shellac and a suitable dryer is associated with the endless strip i8a as shown by Figure 5, and is formed and arranged to permit the passage of a portion of the strip through the liquid 44, so that said liquid fills die impressions previously liquid is solidified by drylngbefore it reachesthe die, and in effect wholly or partially fills or eradicates the die, impressions, so that the stripv is in condition to receive other die impressions without having its surface objectionably mutilated. The receptacle may have a suitable docto device 4!, designed to remove surplus liquid from the portion of the strip tacle.

The platen I! is provided with a downwardlyfacing flat-surfaced face plate of aluminum or alloy of aluminum such as duralumin", which contacts with the upper surface of the backing strip when the platen descends, as shown by Figure 11. The bottom surface of the face plate 48 is smooth and polished, so that its impact on the backing strip, as it is supported by the stripping plate of the die, flattens the slight ridges l! formed on said strip during a, prefious passage 'of'the strip through the machine. By inverting the strip after a passage, said ridges are on the upper side of the strip during the next e, and are flattened'by the face plate when the latter presses down against the stripping plate of the die. The strip therefore passesgforward from the die with its upper surface in a smooth.

condition. Figure 11 shows a portion of the face plate 46 but not the platen. In this figure," designates the die, la the stripper plate of the die, and 48 one of the die punches.

Instead of, or in addition to, the lateral shifting of the die to change the relation between the' die and backing strip the strip itself may be is supplied with guide means which are laterally hid movable in such a manner as to shift the path of the backing strip laterally. In Figure 8, the position of the strip it, while following one path, is shown in full lines, its position while following another path being shown in dotted lines. As

shown, the strip guiding means includes an elongated rod inserted in orifices in the sides of the machine frame and adiustably secured as by a set screw 5i, and a pair of guides 52, each formed as shown by Figure 10, each of said guides having a tapped orifice hill, the threads or" said orifices being formed to engage right and left screw threads 5t! on the rod bi]. The length of. the rod 5% is such that the guides 52 may be laterally shifted as a unit to guide the backing strip either in the path shown by full lines, or in other paths such as that shown by dotted lines in Figure 8, the rod being bodily adjustable endwise when the set screw 5! is loosened. The guides 52 can also be adjusted toward and from each other by rotation of the rod 50 to accommodate strips of different widths. A partial front elevation of a modifiedperforating machine is illustrated in Figure 15. This machine is provided with a bed ill from which a pair of side members 'H rise, the upper portion of the machine being similar, if desired, to the leaving the recep- 3 being preferably of polished aluminum or allo of aluminum. On the front of the machine is mo ted a guide bar 'IB which extends horizontally'across the front of; the machine below the front edge of the bed It. Mounted on the guide bar 16 are two gibs or guide members ll, each of these guide members being adiustably secured to the bar 16 as by a set screw". As indicated in Figure 12, the gibs II are similar in general construction to the gibs 35 or I8, but the parts are diflerently proportioned. Each of the gibs ll comprises a guide rail portion 82 having a verticalsurface adapted to engage a side of a flat die so as to guide thedie as his moved into and out of its operative position in the machine.

Each gib also'has an upright stem portion ll (Flgure'12) connecting the rail 82 with a lower enlarged portion 86,. the latter being provided with a transverse bore 88 through which the guide narrow, the forward portion thereof having a flange with a horizontal surface ill flush with the surface of the bed when the gib is in place. this guide surface 90 thus being virtually a continuation of the bed surface so that the die may 25 be readily slid out in front of the machine on the rails 90 to facilitate the removal of a punched upper and its replacement by an upper to be operated upon. As shown, the rails 82 and their flanges are preferably thin as are also the upright portions 84 of the gibs, the purpose of these features being to facilitate the use of dies in punching patterns on any desired portions of formed" uppers, that is, uppers having their ends stitched together at the rear so as to form a closed loop, as illustrated in Figures 17, 18 and 19.

The machine illustrated in Figure 15 is also provided with a backing strip 92 of paper or the like having a portion 94 stretching across the face plate M longitudinally of the bed and having an adjacent portion 98 extending upwardly in front of the machine where it is before the eyes of the operator. The feeding mechanism for this backing strip, which may be similar to the feeding means partially indicated in Fig-' ure 5, is adapted to feed the strip in such a direction that it moves forwardly past the plate it and upwardly in front of the machine. ihus the portion M of the paper, which is in active useduring the operation of the machine, is fed at once into view so that the operator can readily and promptly detect any abnormalities in the functioning of the backing strip. For example, if the strip is being fed an insuficient distance so that there is danger of its being chopped up by the overlapping successive impressions of the die knives, this quickly becomes manifest to the operator and can be promptly remedied.

As illustrated in Figures 16 to 19, a hat die iii!) is slidable on the gibs it. This fiat die may be constructed in the usual mannerwith a base M2 over which is a stripping plate EM capable of being pressed toward the base against suitable springs, the stripping plate having apertures therein for the punching or cutting knives such as indicated at M36. in order to assist the operator in holding an upper in place on the stripping plate, one or more spring clips idii may be attached to the outer end of the stripping plate, these clips extending toward the inward end of the die and being for the most part spaced above the face of the plate Wt. Figure 13 illustrates a die adapted to perforate a design on the side of a formed upper iiii such as is illustrated in Figure 14. In perforating an upper of this kind,

it is placed on the die in the manner shown in Fflgure 18, the upper being moved forward in such a manner as to embrace the two gibs l8 and the die I". According to the invention, the die itself is made only wide enough to accommodate the particular design to be cut in the upper. Hence, in the case of a small design such as that illustrated in Figure 14, a relatively narrowsdie can be employed, the gibs I8 being adjmtable' laterally to engage the sides of a die of any width. By using narrow dies, the operator can easily embrace the die and gibs with a formed upper in the manner indicated in Figure 18. When the upper has been moved forward far enough to clear the clips I08, the outer edge of the upper is inserted under the ends of the clips ill and the upper is moved back until it can be pushed against the gage pins H0. The clips III are then pressed down by the operator's thumbs so as to pinch the upper against the face of the stripping plate I04, as illustrated in Figure 19. The upper and die may then be moved into operative position in the machine, this forward movement being limited by a stop element 2 which is attached to the front end of the die base I02 so as to engage the front face of the machine. A suitable guard member Ill extends across the opening between the platen and the bed, as indicated in Figures 15 h and 16, the clearance between the guard Ill and the top of the die being insumcient to permit the fingers or thumbs of the operator to pass the guard. This positively prevents any possibility of injury to the operator by having fingers caught between the platen and the die.

It is evident that various modifications and changes may be made in the embodiments of the invention herein shown and described without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

I claim:-

1. In a machine for cutting designs in shoe uppers or the like, a cutting die, a backing strip for the work above said die, means for causing said die to cut upwardly against said strip, means for feeding said strip after each cutting operation, and means for laterally adjusting the operat g position of said die.

In a machine for cutting designs in shoe uppers or the like, a cutting die, a backing strip for the work above said die, means for causing said die to cut upwardly against said strip, means for maintaining tension on the portion of the strip directly opposite the die, means for feeding said strip after each cutting operation and means for laterally adjusting the operating position of said die.

3. In a machine for cutting designs in shoe uppers and the like, a cutting die, a backing strip for the work above said die, means for causing the die to cut upwardly against said strip, means for feeding the strip after each cutting operation,

whereby said die makes a longitudinal series of impressions on the strip, and means for changing the lateral relation of the die and the path of the strip so that impressions made by the die on the strip will be spaced as desired from the side edges of the strip.

4. In a machine for cutting designs in shoe uppers and the like, a cutting die, a backing strip for the work above said die, means for causing the die to cut upwardly against the strip, means for feeding the strip, means for maintaining tension on said portion of the strip, and means for changing the lateral relation of the die and path of the strip so that impressions made by the die on the strip will be spaced as desired from the of the bed between actuations of the platen tov receive successive spaced impressions by said die, guides on said bed to guide in and out movement of the die thereon, a pair of edge-engaging guides for said backing strip, means for simultaneously adjusting-said strip guides toward or from each other to accommodate strips of different widths, and means for adjustably shifting both said strip guides laterally as a unit.

6. In a machine for cutting designs in shoe uppers or the like, a bed for supporting a die, a platen above said bed having a working stroke toward said bed, a backing strip having a stretch between the platen and bed and progressively movable longitudinally of the bed between successive actuations of the platen, guides on said bed to guide in and out movement of a die thereon, and means for lateral relative adjustment of said strip and guides in the same direction whereby substantially the entire width of the strip may be utilized by a die which is narrower than the strip.

7. In a machine for cutting designs in shoe uppers or the like, a bed for supporting a die, a platen above said bed having a working stroke toward said bed, a backing strip having a portion between the platen and bed and progressively movable longitudinally of the bed between successive actuations of the platen, guides on said bed to guide in and out movement of a die thereon, and means for laterally adjusting said guides in the same direction, whereby substantially the entire width of the strip may be utilized by a die which is narrower than the strip.

8. In a machine for cutting designs in shoe uppers or the like, a bed for supporting a die, a platen above said bed having a working stroke toward said bed, a backing strip having a portion between the platen and bed and progressively movable longitudinally of the bed between successive actuations of the platen, guides on said bed to guide in and out movement of a die thereon, and means for laterally adjusting said strip to permit the entire width of the strip to be utilized by a die which is narrower than the strip.

9. In a perforating machine, a fixed bed, a

, transverse guide bar mounted on the front of the machine below the front edge of said bed, and a pair of guide members adjustably secured to said 'bar mounted on the front of said supplementary bed and related to the front edge thereof in the same manner that the first-mentioned guide bar is related to the front edge of the fixed bed.

11. In a perforating machine, a bed, a platen over said bed, means for moving said platen toward and from said bed, a die on said bed having a width selected according to the pattern thereon, and a pair of laterally adjustable guides movable in the same direction engaging the sides of said die.

12. In a Perforating machine, a bed, a platen above said bed having a working stroke toward said bed, a backing strip extending longitudinally of the bed between said platen and bed, guide means for a die on said bed, and means for lateral relative adjustment in the same direction between said guide means and said strip.

13. In a perforating machine having a bed and a platen above the bed, a backing strip having a stretch between the bed and platen, means at the rear of the machine for intermittently feeding said stretch of the strip forwardly, and means at the rear of the machine for maintaining tension on said stretch of the strip.

14. In a perforating machine having a platen, die and a backing strip extending between said platen and die, a pair of edge guides for said strip threaded on a rotatable shaft with right and left hand threads respectively for simultaneous adjustment of said guides toward or from each other, and means for longitudinally, shifting said shaft.

15. A perforating machine comprising a fixed bed, a reciprocating platen, a punching die supported below the platen, and a backing strip moved progressively and guided in stretches including a forwardly moving stretch between the die and platen, and an upwardly moving stretch containing die impressions and facing the front of the machine, the ends of the backing strip being united to each other so that the strip is endless and capable of passing repeatedly through the machine in a given direction.

16. A perforating machine comprising a fixed bed, a reciprocating platen, a punching die supported below the platen, and a backing strip moved progressively and guided in stretches including a forwardly moving stretch between the die and platen, and an upwardly moving stretch containing die impressions and facing the front of the machine, the ends of the backing strip being united to each other so that the strip is endless and capable of passing repeatedly through the machine in a given direction, said machine comprising also a receptacle for a quick drying liquid, said receptacle being formed and arranged to permit the passage of a portion of the endless strip through said liquid, so that the latter fills and is solidified in die impressions previously formed in the strip.

17. A die-guiding element for a perforating machine, comprising an elongated rail, a narrow shank extending down from an intermediate point of said rail, and an enlarged terminal portion at the lower end of said shank having a bore therethrough to 'receive a transverse guide bar, said rail having a vertical die-guiding face extending the entire length thereof and a horizontal diesupporting face extending from said shank to an end of the rail.

18. A methodof operating a perforating machine having a cutting die and a paper backing strip, which comprises feeding the strip through the machine in the operation thereof, whereby a series of impressions is made on said strip, shifting the die laterally to clear the impressions already made on thestrip, feeding the strip through again whereby-a second series of impressions is made thereon, repeating the lateral shifting of the die and feeding of the sheet until the strip is substantially covered on one side with impressions, reversing the strip so as to present the opposite face thereof to the die, feeding said strip through the machine a plurality of times, and laterally shifting the die between successive runs of the strip through the machine.

19. In a machine for cutting designs in shoe uppers or the like, the combination with a cutting die, a backing strip for the work above said die, the width of the strip being greater than the width of the die and means for causing said die to cut upwardly against said strip, of means for adjusting the die laterally into any operating position across the width of the strip.

STIG E. ROSENBERG. 

